2009 Grants - Skoog

Dementia Among 85-year-olds Examined in 1986-87 and 2009

2009 Investigator-Initiated Research Grant

Ingmar Skoog, Ph.D., M.D., and colleagues plan to study secular trends in the prevalence of dementia and its subtypes, as well as in the influence of genetic and other risk factors on dementia, by comparing 85-year-olds examined in 1986-1987 with 85-year-olds examined in 2009.

The researchers will conduct examinations of representative populations of 85-year-olds born between 1901-1902 and 1924, with follow-ups at age 88. The studies include psychiatric and physical examinations, close informant interviews, psychometric testing, DNA-analyses, laboratory tests, CT-scan of the head, cerebrospinal fluid analyses and case-record studies.

The project is unique due to the comprehensive examinations done with identical methods over 22 years. This research will offer more insight into the epidemiological risk factors related to dementia.